26 Mar 2010

Four hour work days are so much healthier for human beings! After sacrificing my entire weekend working for 'the man' I took a wee break with two half days in a row midweek for a cleansing weekday adventure to heal the soul.

Spent 3 hours in the bush climbing up to a gorgeous and effort-worthy 106m waterfall! Hadnt been tramping in quite a while and forgot how fun it is, and if you choose a good track, also very rewarding. So lovely to get away from everything with no cellphones or instamatic electronic influences of any kind. Not even music. Just me and the BF walking and talking smack about anything and everything the whole time.

Got to thinking about fun things to do with friends without necessarily involving alcohol; a few hours walking in the bush is the best way to get back to basics as well as have some great laughs together - the bush is a perfect replacement social lubricant. No make up, a bit of sweat, a bit of dirt, some dodgy river crossings and some rain out in the wilderness might be exactly the bonding experience you and your friends need.

As well as being a healthy activity the biggest bonus is that IT'S FREE!

If you get a chance while there is still some good weather try a new trail with some friends : )

Im not sure what it is about Lady Gaga that makes me want to throw up so much... Never before have I had a stronger compulsion to switch the station for any other music or artist. I like to be as open to new musical influences and styles as possible and can appreciate the artistic talent in just about anything, from rock to rap to baroque to jazz to house. I just cant understand how people can think her music is even listen-worthy. I get the same feeling when I hear her as I do hearing nails on a chalkboard - makes my hairs stand on end. I can deal with her crazy unique fashion sense and even commend her for it - the girl has balls and I myself have been known to be a bit off the wall in that respect too. However, just as some have a "face for radio" the girl produces "music for the deaf".

10 Mar 2010

Why is it that I even bother with insurance - I never seem to be able to claim on the darn thing. I am currently lamenting a wee nose to tail incident which I was responsible for early in the year after recieving the bill today. The cost was $50 under my $1450 excess - I swear they failed to explain the $450 excess for being under 25 and $750 excess for being and "inexperienced driver" i.e. having my Full licence for less than 10years, when I took out the policy. Grrrr. I feel like it is only worth having the blimen cover if I write-off a new ferrari! I feel incentivised by my insurance company to do MAJOR damage to make the most of it.

If there is a next time, I plan on driving right up the cars backside for effect, instead of gently touching the bumper!

My newest philosophy is "if I cant bike there, Im not going.": How flippin selfish am I! Seriously, I have a total aversion to going anywhere father than a stonesthrow from my doorstep if I can possibly avoid it. I just love home. Simple as that. As much as I enjoy travelling, I completely despise the big smoke, particularly familiar evils such as the place (with the second highest rate of respiratory illness in the world after Mexico City - although dont quote me on that) which starts with Auck and ends with land. I cant even pick what it is about going there that makes me want to gag so much other than I live in one of the happiest and most beautiful communities on the planet and am thankful for it everyday.

Anyway enough bragging. I also realised that there was a second element to my latest philosophy. I think I am becoming more selfish with my time. Rather than the yes-girl I have been in the past, I am much more selective now about who I spend my time with, and what I spend it doing. I dont feel like I am alone here and I guess most people come to a point where they realise what and who are important to them, and importantly MAKES THEM HAPPY! I am still adjusting to this new philosophy and often feel a sense of guilt for choosing one thing, activity or person over another but ultimately we only get one shot at this beautiful and way too short thing called life. And I plan on spending mine doing as much carefree adventuring, learning and sharing experiences with the people I love as possible.

1 Mar 2010

On Friday I was waiting for the clock to tick down so I could bolt from the cube farm, and spontaneously booked a tent site in Raglan. The Rip Curl Pro surf competition was on, the weather forecast was good, I checked with the BF, sorted a tent from my grandmother and sent a lame excuse to my Patrol captain to get out of Lifegaurding my weekend away. The stars were aligned promisingly.

Started out mid-morning in my trusty steed Trigger - the 1975 Triumph, packed to the hilt with gear and surfboards. Triggers top speed is about 80kph, but he makes it feel like 160kph due to the large about of rattling and shaking involved and the lack of power steering (parallel parking him is on a par with a Les Mills Pump Class). The alternative choice was Little Red, the BF's early 90's era Ford Laser. Little Red has skin cancer, no stereo as it was broken into outside my place a few months ago, and smells like wet wetsuits, discarded fast-food and rotten upholstery. The advantages of Little Red is that he is super fuel efficient and will go for miles on the sniff of an oily rag, and his top speed is about 97kph. Niether car is particularly roadworthy and Trigger got the nod after Little Red failed his warrant last week and needs new brake pads. Chances of Trigger being selected for this journey are a little like that of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer who didnt have a sh*t-show until there was a white-out.

Anyway, so we started out mid-morning and decided to make a detour to Matamata (one of Waikatos finest urban centres) to "have a flutter on the ponies"...aparently. Well I am not a fan of gambling, or horse racing for that matter but decided to extend the olive branch, and give it a go with an open mind due to the BFs fanatacism for it. Beginners luck prevailed and I came away even - probably due to the conservative in me. Learned a wee bit about the sport and even enjoyed myself; although I could have done with a warning about the dress code beforehand, it wasnt too big a deal. It is Matamata after all.

Arrived in Raglan. Checked into the campground, by which time we were hungry, hot and scratchy. Unpacked the tent to find my grandmother had duped us by failing to include the tent fly...I reckon she did it on purpose for a laugh but it wasnt funny at the time (me accidentally dropping his pillows in the dirt was the straw that broke the camel though) and resulted in a wee tanty from the BF who sulked and proclaimed he was off to book a hotel room. I went timidly back to reception and begged for a tent we could borrow and was fortunate they found something for us. The tent could just about fold into a matchbox. It looked like something parents set up on the beach for little kids to play in, not designed for 2 adults to sleep comfortably.

After a cold swim and some food to remedy both of our hangryness (anger from being hungry) and we cheered up and laughed it off.

Not to stop a good theme, the next day followed a similar pattern. I didnt take my phone with me so I had about 50 missed calls and messages, mostly from my mother who thought we were surely dead in the Tsunami which resulted from the Chilean earthquake. Neither of us had a clue about any threat until we were reading the sign before preceeding down to the "closed beach" with thousands of other Raglanites. ASIDE: New Tui Billboard "NZ Civil Defence Tsunami Warning. Yeah Right.". After getting sufficiently wet and sandy and sunburnt and hungry, we retreated to higher ground in search of a waterhole for a fresh water swim on our way back to Hamilton for the 20/20 (which it turns out was actually being played in Christchurch!). After about 2 hours of gravel roads and scouting dirty black cress-filled farm drains we were directed to by locals (who clearly were having a good laugh at our expense) we gave up and headed home with our backs saturated in sweat fusing to the vinyl seats in my car which has zero airconditioning or functioning fan.

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About Me

I am an optimist and believe in the goodness of people.
I am a bit of a "greenie" and try to pay the extra 50c for my eggs from happy free range chickens...but who isnt these days.
I guess I am a peopleosopher: inquisitive and observant of the world I live in, the people in it and the way they interact.
For a little more about me, keep reading.
Cheerio.
C.K.